Resonant Rest
7. Embracing our roots with KeAloha
I feel like my body’s superpower, ironically, is really evidently showing me when like it’s time to stop. Which at first is definitely did not feel like a superpower because I was like: how am I supposed to continue living because this is how I’ve always been able to live
– KeAloha
KeAloha joins host Oceaan in this week’s episode of Resonant Rest to explore the intersectional identity that fuels the artistic process and empowers the soul journey of who we are. Together these two songweavers delve into the vital connection to ancestry and the stories we try to find and tell, while touching on the nuanced barriers of BIPOC artists in spaces and culture.
Bio
KEALOHA
{kay – ah – loh – hah}
KeAloha’s gifts as a singer, song-weaver, drummer, DJ, and dancer are a source for her mana {power} which she activates through socio-environmental healing efforts. Hailing from a family of brown femmes, and the youngest of three siblings raised by their single Mama, her heart’s foundation lies in uplifting each other in solidarity; and making somethings-from-nothings.
KeAloha grew up in Lheidli T’enneh territory (“Prince George”), where part of her maternal mix hails. She moved to so-called “Vancouver, BC” in 2015 to follow her compass for music and Ohana.
Music is a vessel for KeAloha to build relationships with her diverse lineages as a mixed-Indigenous femme with chronic illness disability. KeAloha is committed to shaping her career and building community through reciprocity for the people and music-cultures who inspire her, and for the communities and lands where she finds home.
KeAloha released her first three singles in the summer of 2021. She was nominated to CBC Searchlight Top 100 with heartsong “Mama’s Hands”, and to the Indigenous Music Countdown’s Top 10 with Indigi-Pop anthem “Mahina”. KeAloha’s debut EP and Album are rooting to bloom in 2022-23.
kealoha.ca
instagram.com/kealoha.music
tiktok.com/@iamkealoha
facebook.com/iamkealoha
Resources
- Oh Tamalli
- Jhené Aiko – Born Tired
- Dia de los Muertos: Day of the Dead
- Mana: Spiritual life force
- Ohana: ohana is used in native Hawaiian culture for one’s social support system, including one’s nuclear family, extended family, close friends and colleagues, and other communities or groups they belong to
- Ipu: a percussion instrument made from gourds that is often used to provide a beat for hula dancing
Music by KeAloha
“Mahina”
Written by KeAloha, co-produced by Josh Eastman and KeAloha
About Resonant Rest:
Welcome to Resonant Rest! Resonant Rest is a Grounded Futures podcast series about musicians and creative practice, rest, sustenance, dreams, and community. Through a series of conversations, we will explore these topics with musicians living on stolen Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) lands (so-called Vancouver). We are interested in collective learning, starting conversations that create real change, and imagining futures where everyone can thrive.
Resonant Rest is hosted by Grounded Futures’ Solo Together Podcast Resident, Oceaan Pendharkar.